This is the third part of a series on eating well while traveling. Today’s segment will is about eating well while staying in a hotel. We have also discussed Eating Well in the Car (packing food) and Eating Well from Fast Food Joints.
Do you struggle to eat well while traveling? It can be difficult but it isn’t impossible even while navigating multiple food allergies and eating a plant-based diet.
Eating Well while Staying in a Hotel
I’m not talking about creating gourmet masterpieces while staying in hotels, I’m talking about eating well enough that you don’t get sick. We usually stay in mid-range hotels when we travel. We usually look for hotels with a microwave, mini fridge and a breakfast buffet. We can’t always get everything we want but it helps to keep us from eating out at every meal.
Breakfast Buffet
The last hotel we stayed at had the worse breakfast options I’ve seen at a hotel (that actually serves breakfast). There was no fruit! They had lots of pastries, packets of oatmeal (the kind with flavors and sugar already mixed in), sugary cereal milk, yogurt, a waffle maker, and juice. Had we not been plant-based it would have been ok. If my son wouldn’t have had a wheat/gluten allergy we could have made due with toast or bagels.
Many hotels have great breakfast areas. I’ll list some of the options that I’ve made work in the past. If you or someone you are traveling with has food allergies I would recommend skipping the hotel breakfast area completely due to cross contamination.
- Oatmeal with raisins and walnuts
- Bagels with peanut butter and sliced apples or bananas
- Fruit
- Whole grain cereal that is low on sugar
- If they have an omelet area ask for just the veggies
- Toast with peanut better and fruit
Some hotels have more options, others have less. Since we were concerned for our son’s allergies I packed most the food he ate for breakfast including cereal, rice milk, hot rice cereal (just add hot water), lots of fresh and dried fruit.
Mini Fridge & Microwave Options
- Pre-cooked Rice Bowls
- Instant Soups
- Sandwiches
- Steam in bag veggies
- Frozen Food (store-bought or homemade)
- Salad from a deli
- Non-dairy yogurt
- Hummus and raw veggies
This is a pretty simple list but we really wants to spend a lot of time cooking when you are traveling. We also had a bag with small sunflower seed butter packets that could be used in a food emergency.
Do you ever find yourself needing to cook in a hotel?
We’ve stayed in places with full kitchen’s and I hated all the time I spend cooking and cleaning. Now I opt for easier and quicker (microwave) cooking methods while on the go.
Do you have a suggestions I may have missed for eating at the hotel?
Brittany says
I actually eat REALLY well while on vacation, and I think it’s so fun to make food in my hotel room!! Microwavable cous cous with veggies is a staple, also one time I brought a plug in hot water machine and made pasta! It was awesome.
Holly @ My Plant-Based Family says
That is awesome Brittany! I used to have one in my dorm room. I also ha a hot plate and a kettle and would make full breakfast and host hot cocoa parties.
sproutingon says
First, I want to say thank you Holly for this blog and your post! Love visiting and I am inspired by you and all your readers! My cusin and I were just talking about this very hotel eating soga. She actually told me that her hotel did not server breakfast, but she used the coffee pot to get “hot water” and brought along (or you could always go buy) oatmeal with flax (they have it now in individual packs) and used that as her breakfast each morning. I make my oatmeal like this in the am with my kids and it works well. You just have to let it sit in the hot water for a couple minutes until it softens. I love all the suggestions mentioned above.
Holly @ My Plant-Based Family says
Great suggestions! I forgot about using the coffee pot for hot water. That opens up a lot of possibilities!
An Unrefined Vegan says
I think the biggest part of trip planning now for us is – – what are we going to eat?! Restaurants for the most part are out, so we always end up lugging several coolers. I always have a big bag of oats mixed w/ cinnamon, dried fruit and nuts. That takes care of breakfast. (Gosh, most hotel breakfasts are awful!) Usually I’ll bring hummus, raw crackers, cut up veggies, and raw bars for lunch. Packets of miso soup are great for dinner along w/ greens from a grocery salad bar – if a good store can be found. It’s always helpful to read other peoples ideas!
Holly @ My Plant-Based Family says
I brought packets of miso soup on our last trip for a back up but we never needed it. I know we could have made it with only the food I brought but thankfully we found a few options that worked for us.